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Matt Allen completed the varsity boys 3.1 mile race in 34 minutes, 5 seconds. by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Cross Country team participated in the Johanna Olson Invitational held at the Whitetail Run Golf course in Wadena on Tuesday September 8th. It was a challenging day for the team, with temperatures in the 80s and humidity that made running more difficult. The team rallied and finished strong. New for the team, we also had four elementary students who are pa

by Coach Mike Mahlen The Verndale Pirates played South Ridge on Friday, Sept. 4, falling 14-12 in overtime. Verndale scored first in the opening quarter on a six-yard touchdown run by Joe Elfstrum. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, giving the Pirates a 6-0 lead. South Ridge tied the game in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Kingsley Archambault. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the score tied 6-6. In overtime, Verndale scored on a two-yard to

Is Terminator becoming less entertainment and more warning? The quick development of artificial intelligence is raising concerns among some of the people that are building it. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI development may be moving faster than safety measures can keep up with, while other technology leaders have called for stronger safeguards and independent testing. Much of the concern centers on increasingly capable “AI agents” that can perform tasks indepe

by Trinity Gruenberg trinity@inhnews.com The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday. September 1. Board Chair Ron Noon was absent. 4-H Update Extension Educator Jeanette Watland gave an update on 4-H summer activities and shared that this year’s county fair involved significant changes, as 4-H moved its main projects and activities to Building 2. Many volunteers helped with set-up and tear-down, and participation was strong on judging days. Clover

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Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith spoke at the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) meat processing facility in Staples on Tuesday, August 18. Addressing the shortage of local meat processing facilities, which became particularly acute during the pandemic, MFU pursued establishing a meat processing facility in the west-central region of the state, where there was not a USDA-inspected facility in close proximity for farmer

by Haley Youngbauer The Verndale Pirates Volleyball team opened their season with two hard fought matches last week, falling 1-3 to Staples-Motley on Tuesday and 0-3 to Parkers Prairie on Thursday. The Pirates started the week on the road to battle the Staples-Motley Cardinals. After a long back and forth first set, the Pirates dug deep and came out victorious with a score of 28-26. The Pirates kept up the fight to keep each set close, but despite their best efforts, the

by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Cross Country team has had a busy beginning of the season. The first meet we participated in was the Brave Like Gabe meet hosted by Perham. This meet took place on Saturday, August 29th at The Pioneer Village in Perham. There were 40 teams competing at this meet, split by school size into two different groups. Running for the Junior High girls’ team was Elliana Mathison, who finished the two-mile course in 19 min. 51 sec. Running for

This month’s book club selection was Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson. As far as thrillers and murder mysteries go, this book had a very unique premise. Jet lives with her wealthy family in Woodstock, Vermont. After spending an evening at the town’s Halloween festival, she returns home hoping to enjoy some peace and quiet. Instead, she is brutally attacked. Jet wakes up in the hospital and learns she suffered a serious head injury that required surgery. The bad news is th

News from Verndale's Past 40 Years Ago, September 10, 1986 • Joe and Diane Rousslang of Verndale look on in this photo as their son, John, was awarded a special honor medal for quick, correct thinking in an emergency situation. The award was presented by the Park Region Scout Council. Bruce MacKenzie, district executive officer from Brainerd, made the presentation last Thursday evening during a program held at Sunnybrook Park in Wadena. John was the one who discovered the fi